Our Magical Trip to Ireland
We visited Ireland in April 2023. Months later it is a trip we still talk about and if we could do it all again we would not change a thing, well most things we would not change. I booked the vacation through the travel company Brendan Vacations. I was crazy busy at the time and just could not pour over vlogs, books, and websites trying to figure out where to go and what to do. I had seen a TikTok of a person who loved their itinerary from Brendan Vacations, so I thought I would give them a try.
They made the booking process very easy. A couple of weeks before we traveled we received our travel documents with all of the vouchers needed for any excursion we did.
We flew on Aer Lingus out of Boston. I would recommend them and use them again. Like most international flights from Boston, we left in the evening and arrived in Dublin nice and early.
Day 1- We checked into Jurys Inn Parnell St. This was a pretty basic hotel, nice, clean, good location not fancy, but comfortable. Breakfast was included which we loved. The Dublin City hop-on-off bus was a part of our package. Honestly, I almost canceled this, I am not usually a fan of these I prefer to explore on my own , but I am glad I did not cancel this bus ride. It was a nice way to quickly see a good amount of the city. We also used them to get around the city to the things we had booked during our stay in Dublin. That afternoon we had a private walking tour of Dublin. I was not sure what to expect but I went with it. Again, no regrets. The tour was run through the company Pat Liddy’s. Our tour guide Liam was so knowledgeable and very thoughtful as well. He was there to answer questions and made some great suggestions for dining. He showed us some cool spots around the city and we learned so much of Dublins history. This was an afternoon well spent. That night we ate at The Church 5/5 great vibes, live music & food.
Day 2- After a decent night's sleep and a good breakfast a the hotel we had another fun-filled day in Dublin. We started at the Emigration Museum. This is such a great museum. You learn so much Irish history I highly recommend it here for all ages. If you have Irish family heritage you can make an appointment and check out your family tree. Again this was a beautiful museum, even non-museum-loving people will appreciate it.
After thoroughly enjoying our time at EPIC. We ate lunch at a cute spot called The Potato Company. I’d rate them 3/5 for good service and vibes.
After lunch, we hopped back on the hop on off bus and road it to the famous Guinness Storehouse. This is a must-do, in my opinion, for any trip to Ireland, even if you’re not the biggest beer fan. Guinness is one of the oldest beers in the world originally founded by Arthur Guinness in 1759. The self-guided tour takes you through history, brewing processes, ingredients, and (my favorite) the marketing. You end at the Gravity Bar where you will have amazing views of Dublin while tasting a fresh pint of Guinness.
Day 3- The day we picked up the rental car & drove on the left side of the road. This was a bit nerve-wracking at first, especially since we took off in the city, but overall no regrets. We loved having a car and the freedom to go at our own pace. Next on the plan was Cobh & a walking tour of this cute seaside town through Titanic Trail. Cobh was once known as Queenstown until 1920. It was the last place the Titanic took off from before its fateful night. The tour was led my Dr. Michael Martin who not only grew up in the area but was filled with passion and knowledge of the area. This was a great stop on the way to Killarney, where we spent two nights.
That evening after checking into our hotel, Randles Hotel, we ate at theLaurels Pub I’d rate it a 5/5 great service food and service, and we will go back next time we’re in Killarney.
Day 4- The best day of the trip and the one we had no idea what we were in for. This was my fault I didn’t read the description well enough. But when we go back to Ireland we are 100% going to do this again or something like this again. We hiked just over 10 miles in Killarney National Park with Linda from Ireland Walk Hike Bike.
My pictures do not do the beauty of Ireland justice. The hike was beautiful from beginning to end. Our personal guide Linda was so amazing. She was patient, kind and so knowledgeable of the area. We saw a few waterfalls and the highlight was the one at the end Torc Waterfall. You don’t need to hike ten miles to get here though you can park at the MuckRoss House and walk the short distance from this beautiful estate. The long hike made it all worth it. When we go back to Ireland this is tops on our to-do list! For anyone wanting to have a fun outdoor adventure check out Ireland Walk Hike Bike.
That night we ate at Murphys Bar and I would rate is a 4/5 great service and good comfort food after a lond day on the trails.
Day 5- Checking out of the Randles Hotel. We didn’t want to leave Killarney. It is a cute town and the hike will forever be our favorite thing we did. Before we left for our next adventure we decided to stop at Ross Castle. This was a huge benefit of having a car making these little side detours. We walked around the castle grounds and then hit the road to the famous Cliff of Moher, another must-do for anyone visiting Ireland.
The Cliffs of Moher are stunning. You can enjoy hiking trails around the area but we were still sore from the hike the day before we took it easy and enjoyed the views. This was a stark contrast to the hike we did in Killarney National Park the day before, it was packed with tourists. With good reason it is gorgeous. But it made us thankful for the hike we experienced yesterday.
After enjoying the views and visiting the gift shop we set off for our next stop Galway. We were booked for one night at the Galmont Hotel and Spa. This was more like a Hilton hotel it had a corporate vibe to it. It was a nice-sized room clean and the staff was great at recommending spots to eat and check out with our short time in Galway. We had one night in Galway, and this would be one regret if you can call it that. I wish we had more nights! Galway was our type of city. We ate dinner at John Keogh’s Gastropub. I would rate them a 5+/5 the food was seriously the best we had all trip. I had the most delicious salmon ever, 100%we will go back. After dinner and not wanting to go back to the hotel on this rainy night we checked out a couple of pubs in the more touristy area; The Quays with the Galway girl statue outside & later in the evening we stopped at Taaffes for a quick pint. I loved The Quays we had a cozy seat in the back and listened to live music I can not wait to go back.
Day 6- Our last full day in Ireland. On today’s itinerary was driving back to Dublin with a stop at Athlone Castle. We made a side trip not on the original plans and drove through Claregalway, where I have family heritage. This was a cool little side trip I am glad we did. It was fun to visit where my family was from and with more time I would love to explore more of my Irish family heritage in Ireland.
Athlone Castle is about halfway back to Dublin from Galway, and the first thing I would say to skip if you had teens or older young adult kids. If your kids are younger this would be the perfect castle to visit, they had some cute interactive exhibits. We did, after some master parallel parking while driving on the left, find a really cute coffee shop/ restaurant that made the stop worth it. Bastion Cafe has some healthy options and looks like on nice days you could sit outside.
Back in Dublin, we checked into the Brooks Hotel, after returning our rental car. I am glad we did not have to park at this hotel!! The Brooks Hotel was a little more centrally located than where we stayed the first nights, and the streets were tight. Even though with a week of driving on the left, nothing is like driving in a city on the opposite side of the road than you’re used to. We were thankful to be done with driving this trip.
We had some time to kill and had worked up an appetite on our adventure back to Dublin. We decided to stop and grab a burger at Bunsen. They have a limited menu with burgers and fries, it was a perfect quick lunch spot.
The last thing on our plans was Celtic Nights a “Traditional Irish Night”. If this is on your itinerary cancel it run away and don’t look back!! It was so not good. We sat with other Americans at a very crowded table. The restaurant was so hot and stuffy and the food was awful. The musicians and dancers were talented and the only good thing about this experience. We had such a wonderful time in Galway at pubs listening to live music this wasn’t it, we wanted to leave, which is what we did. We left after a little bit and found a really fun pub with live music, now this was a magical way to end our time in Ireland. We flew home bright and early the next day with nonstop talking about when will we get to go back.
